Commissioners approve 50-year lease for Community Corrections building

Clay County Commissioners approved a 50-year lease agreement on Tuesday with Clay County Community Corrections for the building used by that agency.

Clay Circuit Judge Joseph Trout, who is president of the Community Corrections board, said the lease is good for all parties.

Trout reminded commissioners the new Community Corrections building is needed because of changes in Indiana Code that puts more people convicted of lesser crimes in Community Corrections instead of prison. He said the people using Community Corrections have to pay for their services.

The lease agreement can be adjusted annually with the agreement of both Community Corrections and county commissioners.

The judge also asked commissioners for clarification about possibly paving the Community Corrections parking lot in the future. The parking lot was built larger than needed by Community Corrections personnel so it can be used for overflow parking for the courthouse.

Commissioner Paul Sinders agreed that if the lot is paved, the county will bear the cost, not Community Corrections.

In other business:

•Paul Sinders will continue as president of the county commissioners through June and then Bryan Allender will become the commission president July through December.

After the meeting, Sinders said he has been president for the past two years and doesn’t want to continue in that position. He said Allender really didn’t want to be president for the whole year so the three commissioners decided to split up the duties between the two men.

• A four-year service and maintenance contract with Microvote for the county’s voting machines was approved at $12,000 per year, covering software updates and hardware.

Sinders abstained from voting on the contract after asking Jason Jacobs, the clerk’s chief deputy, why the county was paying for voting machine maintenance on a year with no election.

The contract was approved 2-0-1 with commissioners Allender and Jim Bowman voting for it.

• The Local Emergency Planning Committee plan was adopted.

• An interlocal agreement between the county and town of Center Point was approved for snow removal on major roads for $2,000 for the calendar year.

• The county will receive $4,807 for the use of county roads when State Road 42 west of S.R. 59 was temporarily closed.

• The Clay County Highway Department is being partially reorganized after the resignation of two office employees. There will now be a full-time office manager and part-time secretary.

• Commissioners voted to support Wallace Brothers’ efforts to get a variance for an expansion of the lift station behind the company’s office on U.S. 40 West.

• Performance bonds for county officials and employees will cost $3,587 for 2017.